While first-time
unemployment claims dropped in Louisiana during the week ending on June 1, from
3,386 the previous week to 3,306, the number of people filing for continued
unemployment insurance rose from 22,047 to 22,647, according to the weekly jobs
report from the Louisiana Workforce Commission on Friday.

The U.S. Department of
Labor also issued a national unemployment report on Friday, finding an increase
of 175,000 jobs across the country but an unemployment rate rising slightly
from 7.5 percent in April to 7.6 percent in May. The combination of the overall
increase in the number of jobs and higher jobless rate could be a sign that
more people are trying to seek employment.

In a May report, the
federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported four months of rising unemployment
in Louisiana through April, with a bump of 6.2 percent to 6.5 percent from
March to April.

The Friday report from
the state said the number of people filing jobless claims and receiving
benefits in Louisiana dropped from 21,971 in April to 20,027 in May and a
four-week moving average of continuing claims also dropped. But the four-week
average of weekly initial claims rose from 2,739 to 2,939.

Both the current week
numbers and the four-week averages for the week ending June 1 were lower than
the comparable period in 2012 in the most recent report.